F&Q’s – Language and Lingo

All the lingo that seems to come attached to the development sector can be very confusing and alienating, here is a short breakdown of some of those mind boggling terms and a brief explanation of some of the work of NGOs like People against Poverty.

How can I be part of development work?
If you are passionate about making a difference, having your say or just want to hear more join our Facebook community of young voices and follow our blog to start acting as a representative of PaP missions and projects.
There are so many ways that you can get involved in the development discourse and work of PaP, without even leaving your home! Raise your voice, share on social media and make a difference now!

Why youth?
Youth is where it’s at! Today’s youth are louder and more politically passionate and active than any other generation before, why not join them in making a difference?
Here at PaP we believe in the power of a young voice in representing PaP projects and the issue of global poverty more generally. We want to engage with YOU, educating and empowering young people to go and spread the word because we believe that you can make a difference and together we can tackle poverty, changes lives together.

What is development work?
Development and development work can be concepts hard to define as they describe both process and product. Ideas of development are what inform policy and procedure to bring about change and the word development is also used to describe the positive change that has been achieved.
For us at PaP, development work consists of helping change lives by meeting basic needs: food, housing, education, shelter, giving people legitimacy and legal status. Our projects are designed to empower greater self-sufficiency, new hope and a more sustainable future.

What is an NGO?
Let’s begin by stating what it is not. An NGO is neither part of a government organisation nor is it a conventional for-profit business. An NGO is a Non-Governmental-Organisation, normally a non profit business, a charity, working for a cause. NGOs are also often referred to as CSO, ‘civil society organisation.’ They are task oriented and work with specific aims towards a goal for public good based on an agreed common interest, for example to provide food and shelter to those who would otherwise be lacking such a basic amenity.

What’s the difference between a non-profit and an NGO?
NGOs are often seen as synonymous with non-profits, but a distinction between the two is useful. Non-profits include a very wide range of organizations, including museums, universities, and hospitals, that focus on services and rarely (if ever) engage in advocacy. By contrast, NGOs always have an important advocacy mission.

What purpose do NGO’s serve?
The NGO world and effective work is absolutely vast with an estimated 1.5 million NGOs working effectively in the US alone. These NGOs perform a wide variety of services and humanitarian functions bring public concerns to governments, monitor policy and programme implementation, and encourage participation of civil society stakeholders at the community level. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights.

What do they support?
Examples of NGOs include those that support human rights, advocate for improved health or encourage political participation. Two broad groups of NGOs are identified by the World Bank: operational NGOs, which focus on development projects; and advocacy NGOs, which are organized to promote particular causes. Certain NGOs may fall under both categories simultaneously.

PaP falls primarily under the first category, operational, with projects in the UK (Bridging the Gap), Romania, Haiti and Nepal as well as the Child Sponsorship Programme that extends to 6 countries.

How are NGOs funded?
Some NGOs rely primarily on volunteers, while others support a paid staff. As non-profits, NGOs rely on a variety of sources for funding, including membership dues, private donations, the sale of goods and services, and grants. Despite their independence from government, some NGOs rely significantly on government funding while others receive none at all.

Is PAP an NGO?
People against Poverty is an NGO and a registered UK Charity meaning that we legally work to support missions fighting for better lives through project work in six countries. We receive no government funding.

What are UK NGOs doing to tackle poverty?
In a time of cutbacks NGO work in the UK is still deemed of highest importance.
Britain has revealed this as, while under the government of David Cameron, cuts have been made to almost every department the Department for International Development’s budget has been ring fenced and will grow to £11.5bn by the year 2014-15 – or 0.7 percent of gross national income meeting UN targets.
UK NGOs are focused on a wide range of policy influencing and effective projects that, according to the UN, contribute to the world NGO effort touching the lives of 250 million people in the developing world.

What does humanitarian really mean?
According to the World Health Organization Glossary of Humanitarian Terms;

Humanitarian Action: Assistance, protection and advocacy actions undertaken on an impartial basis in response to human needs resulting from complex political emergencies and natural hazards.

Humanitarian Assistance: Aid that seeks to save lives and alleviate suffering of a crisis affected population. Humanitarian assistance must be provided in accordance with the basic humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality. This means that state sovereignty should be respected and the work should be focused on relief of suffering through peaceful work without political or military intervention.